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Monday, September 3, 2012

Mostly Quiet On the Western Front

By Charles Cullen

Today I am in Charlotte, North Carolina, covering the Democratic National Convention and was witness to the not quite awesome power of "Operation Chaos," or whatever Seussical name the Republicans were using in Tampa for their plan to disrupt the Convention here. So far, "Operation Chaos" has consisted mostly of a very, very small group of Republicans locking arms and sitting down outside the Charlotte Convention Center ... then, getting hot, and crestfallen because no one was paying attention to them, leaving.

Rep. Paul Ryan is hovering around in Greenville, giving short speeches that seem in danger of swerving into the Ayn Rand nonsense that got him in trouble in the first place. There's even a "Paul Ryan Rally" planned. But it suffers from the same problem as the Republican arm-lockers; no one really seems to be paying much attention. Everyone at a Paul Ryan rally has made up their mind. This isn't news or persuasion; it's just pandering.

An Internet ad has also been produced, juxtaposing Obama's speeches from 2008 to his speeches from 2012. The tag-line is "Same Speeches, Same Promises." But at least Obama is consistent. Were the Democrats to run a similar attack ad against Ryan and Romney, they'd find nothing but contradiction. Mitt Romney has taken every possible position on just about every political issue, while Ryan has had to repudiate his philosophical compass (Ayn Rand) in light of her less than conservative-kosher beliefs.

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus looks like he's trying not to vomit as he outlines the many states that Romney needs to campaign heavily in, and win, to overtake the President.

And while Priebus is doing a good job of keeping it all down, and of lying through his teeth, I am increasingly confident that this race is President Obama's to lose.

If it weren’t for the entertainment value, I’d be pleased that Texas Governor Rick Perry is foundering in the Republican presidential race. After all, Governor Perry, who is in an unprecedented fourth term as chief executive of the nation's second-largest state, still might get the Republican nomination for president. If that happens there’s no telling what the voters might be fooled into doing. Just look at how far George W. Bush got.